SWEET
by electrik hussy
Summary: Sasuke finds a little sugar can make a bitter life sweet.
1. Chapter 1

**SWEET**

**Synopsis: **Sasuke finds a little sugar can make a bitter life sweet.

Chapter 1

Tsunade wore a solemn expression; the young woman sitting across from her appeared vacant. She- the young woman- was slightly early for her appointment she silently chewed bubblegum as they waited for the rest of the party to arrive.

As relieved as Tsunade was in finding someone, she also knew this would probably end up doing more harm than good. However, she also had to keep her council happy so that they would not interfere with the way she ran the village.

Still, something wasn't quite right with Reina Reiga. Why would she consent to this? Tsunade turned her gaze back to Reina and thought of something to say. Man, this was awkward!

"So- uh- will the sweets you brought me go with sake?" She paused a moment and looked at the box of wagashi in front of her. A bead of sweat dripped down Tsunade's temple as the girl nodded.

"Of course, Godaime-sama;" she answered the question the Hokage already knew the answer to but clearly the silence was a strain.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon." Tsunade carried on for lack of anything better to say. Once again the girl just nodded her head and went on staring out the bay-windows. It was like she wasn't even there but the same time Tsunade felt oddly unnerved by her. She appeared to be day dreaming and staring past her but it also felt like all Reina's attention was on her.

There was a knock at the door and then Shizune entered followed by Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto.

"You're late;" the Hokage growled, although she was just happy they were all here and she didn't have to be alone with this weird girl anymore. "Come on Uchiha, let's get this over with."

Sasuke moved to sit across from Tsunade in the allotted chair to Reina's right. He looked her over. They had never met before although he knew enough about her on paper- name: Reina Reiga; age: 23; DOB: 5 March; civilian; single; store owner; property owner. Hair colour: dark green. Eye colour: dark brown. She was a Fire Country national, from an old ninja clan of which she was one of only two living members. Both were women; Reina being the only one young enough to breed. Pitiful.

She was as pale as he, her hair was shorter and darker than he imagined it would be, it was almost black and in a pixie cut. She wore gold stud earrings, a light dusting of blush, a pink lip-gloss and black eye-liner. She looked plain, Sasuke approved, the last thing he needed was a flashy peacock who'd spend all his hard earned money on a high street lifestyle. He also approved her cloths: powder-blue t-shirt, dark-brown hakama and plain wooden clogs. In fact the only thing he did not approve was the chewing gum she silently rolled around her mouth; chewing gum was a bad habit and he hated sweets.

He was happy that Tsunade had found him a woman; it took her two months where he'd spent much of the previous year trolling the village and surrounding areas. He'd found out very quickly that even fan girls would turn tail and run when he mentioned that he wanted to marry as soon as possible and start rebuilding his clan. Even Naruto was luckier with woman than him. However, the fact that Sakura had broken up with him, claiming he was a terrible boyfriend and threw herself into her work and training, was the last straw for him.

That had been a major blow to his ego, because he had truly tried to make it work with her. He didn't love in the romantic sense, but he valued and respected her as a teammate and she had grown beautiful in the years he was away from the village. But he could not blame her, she wanted more than he could offer and in all honesty she deserved all those things.

Karin had still not forgiven him for trying to kill her, she stayed away from him and refused to work with him, she was a career chuunin and senior nurse at the hospital. The few conversations they've had, have been icy and nothing beyond perfunctory message relaying or greetings. He heard her long-time boyfriend had just made jounin.

So, 19 year old Uchiha Sasuke was useless at finding himself a wife. It was inevitable the council would get involved, off course no one imagined they'd step in so early, least of all Sasuke himself. Marriage was a scary prospect; he would be 20 in a week and he had hoped to cut loose a bit- but now. A wife? His wife?

Tsunade placed the documents in front of them; he signed, she signed. Naruto signed as his witness and Kakashi signed as no one was available; which was fine because Kakashi claimed he knew her and her family.

Tsunade then signed, dated and stamped it and handed the pile to Shizune for filing.

Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out an austere gold band and gestured to her. She seemed shocked at first but then placed her left hand in his and allowed him to place the ring on her finger.

"Time for some sake." Tsunade sounded exasperated as she pushed a small cup across the desk for them to share. He drank, she drank; they did not look at each other. "I now pronounce you man and wife, at this point it's customary that you kiss- but I won't insist." They looked at each other briefly, they faces were expressionless and just like that they turned back to Tsunade. "Right, so if there is nothing else, I think we're done here." She had an apprehensive look on her face; the Uchiha was still a kid. He went from one life mission to the next accruing heavy responsibilities where ever he went. It was frustrating, heart-breaking even. As little as she cared for him, she was not blind to how much he really did try and how much his path had cost him.

"I wish you all the happiness and pray you have a blessed married life."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." They answered together. The group was dismissed and left. Tsunade sighed.

Outside the Hokage's office stood two suit cases a travel pack and box, Sasuke's life. He shouldered his pack and picked up the box, Naruto- who had been unnaturally quiet- helped with Sasuke's luggage.

"Well," Kakashi started, "I have patrols until tomorrow." He looked at Reina. "It was good seeing you again Rei-chan and congratulations on your nuptials." He waved to them and disappeared in a flash.

"Say, Reina-san," Naruto piped up, "how do you know Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke permitted the question because he too was curious; although it was probably too late to find out if she had dated the older jounin.

"He worked closely with my brother." She answered simply, her voice honeyed and mature, soft but as clear as a bell. Most of all, it was not irritating.

"And why does he call you Rei-chan?" Naruto continued as the stepped out of the Hokage Tower and walked in the direction of the market district.

"Naruto, it's impolite to ask people personal questions when you've just met them." Sasuke interjected.

"It's quite alright Sasuke-san," Reina spoke politely then blew the bubblegum as large as it would go and then loudly deflated it and rolled it around in her mouth. Sasuke blanched. Then she did something that he was sure he'd try to block out for her years to come- she aimed and spat the, now, pea-shaped treat at a bin on the sidewalk across the street. Dead on target. Naruto, having watched all this, took in his best-friends expression and nearly turned blue trying to supress his laughter. Sasuke turned to him, and looked utterly murderous. At that Naruto start laughing loud and long and his mirth could not be contained all the way to their destination.

Sasuke lived with Naruto when he first came back to the village and then moved into the jounin barracks as soon as he was eligible. As the Uchiha district had not been rebuilt after Pein's attack, Sasuke did not truly have a home. It had also not yet been decided if land would be set aside for him and that left him destitute. He was grateful that a woman could be found who was also a property owner.

They stopped at a small store building; it was three storeys high and took up three eighths of a block. It was wedged between an apartment complex and what appeared to be a loading area. Sasuke prayed this was just a short stop on the way to the actual building because he could not picture himself living here. The 'here' was a candy store: Jinjo No Okasi Shouten.

"Welcome home, buddy!" Naruto could barely contain his glee.

Sasuke went white as a sheet. Someone must have made a mistake; there was no way he could be expected to live here.

"Our loading gate won't open," she spoke, apparently nonplussed about his trepidation and Naruto's boisterous guffawing, "we'll have to go through the stockroom. Please, follow me."

Inside the shop was busy, there were people of all ages waiting in line at a display counter with a sign overhead which read _order and pay here_ in bright printed script. It was manned by an old woman in a long sleeved version of Reina's outfit and apron. Others were cueing at the counter closer to the door manned by a civilian boy of remarkably plain looks.

Everyone seemed to know her, Sasuke marked how many face lit up with recognition or greeted or made light chit chat. The air reeked of caramel and cinnamon and mint and butter and melted chocolate. There were racks of freshly baked buns, muffins, syrupy dango, donuts and éclairs but most of all wagashi. Everywhere he looked was wagashi in every shape, form and colour under the sun. The shop was a sensory overload; he recognised some of the customers as shinobi, people he'd been on missions with. It was then he heard Naruto's voice.

"Hey, Sakura-chan… yeah, we're here now… did you see that pic I sent you? I know, right? Priceless." It was at this point he realised Sasuke was giving him a death glare, "listen, I gotta go." He said quietly before hanging up.

Sasuke just shook his head and followed Reina as she led them to back of the shop. She stood aside at the stockroom door and gestured they go first. After she stepped inside she locked the door behind them. The stockroom was a small larder with twelve large metal shelf-cases packed with boxes and sacks. She continued leading them to a door at the opposite end of the cool room. This one was not locked and opened to large, very clean kitchen that smelled heavily of bleach and ammonia. There was a breakfast booth in the corner in front of a large bay-window with terracotta coloured Roman blinds.

"This is our kitchen, sometimes we'll use it for work when we have to fill large or special orders, but that's not often." The more Sasuke found out about this place, the worse it got. "Breakfast is at seven am, dinner is at seven pm. Lunch is at twelve thirty and tea is at three. We close early on the weekend so Saturdays and Sundays we have light breakfasts at six am, high-teas at two pm, and late dinners sometime after 8 pm." With every passing word Sasuke's ears grew weary of her voice. They passed threw a long corridor, the floors were varnished hardwood polished to a high shine.

To his right was a columned-arch which led into an ornately decorated dining room, there were two great paintings on the walls; one showed a harvest seen in kaiga style the other a, rich oil of a countryside estate in a far of land in the high impressionist style. There were two dark oak display cabinets with sand-blasted windows, decoratively littered with porcelain and crystal crockery; silver, stainless steel and gold-washed cutlery and high varnished and lacquered chopsticks some carved from stone and inlayed with gems others were masterfully carved from cedar or oak with scenes on them. Yet the most astonishing part of the room was the twelve-seater ornately carved, monstrosity of solid, dark oak, standing on a richly woven silk mat in red, brown and black. The chairs were carved from a the same wood and had cushioning on the back and seat, covered in royal blue velvet, a star crested crown embroidered on the top of each chair- back and front- in silver thread.

"Holy shit!" Naruto remarked in an awed whisper.

Sasuke's reaction was intense; first he was not expecting such wealth from an orphaned civilian woman who lived hand to mouth and second, she did not appear to be at all comfortable with so much ornamentation. Reina really was a Plain Jane in every sense of the term, which made her the perfect spouse for him… on paper. Sasuke was now wondering if he would ever feel comfortable here; he started to wonder if he could go back to the futon at Naruto's. He spied his best friend's wide eyed and opened mouth visage; he envied his friend's easy expressiveness, especially now. The idiot could walk around with a female body builder on his shoulders and no one would think any less of him, but the Uchiha had a reputation to uphold, he cannot let on that any of _this_ bothers him; hence, his mildly interested yet icily stoic countenance.

"Dining room," she pointed out unnecessarily and led them back into the corridor.

The corridor gave way to a spacious entrance area with beautifully engraved door facing the street and the loading area gate which was 'broken'. To the left was flight of stairs with an aged gilded-iron balustrade and to the right an elegant antique elevator. Behind them was an open columned archway which led into a highly decorative and lavish lounge.

"This is our sitting room." She explained, again, uselessly. Sasuke marked this; though she was succinct in her descriptions she seemed to have a hopeless way of pointing out the obvious. He would have chopped it off to a lack of common sense, but when was something that simple ever the case, even the idiot had more to him than his blond hair and whiskers.

No, Reina was nervous. Although her face was the very picture of vacant calm, her shoulders were tense and slightly hunched in an abdominal stress position. She held her arms close to her body and held her hands in front of her. Despite the polite, passive act she put on; her body painted a very different picture of her personality.

Or she could just be nervous of being a lone civilian woman in a room with two of the village's most elite ninja. They got that a lot, the looks of awe and fear and trepidation and terror. Perhaps not all of them could describe the looks all of them got, but those were definitely the looks _he_ got.

He realised that she may be nervous about him and his past. There was no way to escape it, as a grown man he would need to accept the fact that he was who he was, and, is who he is. As painful as his past is to him, he accepted what was done to him, for he could not change events that were beyond his power to change. And he felt remorse for what he'd done wrong, especially since what he had done had not taken away from his pain. It would take a long time for him to be fully accepted and he knew that; but, he would that his new wife could be at ease in his company.

He looked about the room, once again, it was overly decorated in antiques and pomp and nothing at all like the plain girl who lived here.

It was even bigger than the dining room. There were sandblasted French doors directly across from the front door and the columned archway. The doors glass panels were framed by newly re-varnished wood and the door handles were polished bronze. The pleated, embroidered, glossy champagne drapes were pulled up and apart- they were a type of curtain/ Roman blind- and the morning sun shone through the heavy cascade of cream lace netting.

There was a black grand piano in the far corner, surrounded by four chairs and a chess table from the Victorian era. The actual lounge part looked early 1900s: two cane shellback settees with heavy woven cushions in cream and beige; an ornately carved bench with lion paws, the frame was enamelled in white embellished with gold the back had panels of woven lattice and the seat was a thick powder blue cushioning quilted and studded with buttons; and an absurd chaise lounge in beige velvet quilting, the frame was a glowing cedar wood, with carved flowers and lion paws.

There were expensive mats even more expensive looking fixtures and the art work that looked priceless in their reserved places of reverence on the walls, stands, tables and desks and in display cabinets. All in all, it was cat burglar's paradise.

However, the only thing that looked to be worth any mentioning to Naruto was the ceiling and not because of the incredible crystal chandelier but the ceiling itself. "Wow, is that gold on the ceiling?!" At the incredulous pitch in his friends voice Sasuke had to look up and agree with awe. The ceiling was high and… gold, or at least looked like gold.

"Tinted mirrors, actually;" Reina answered simply and with obvious detachment and quietly led them out of the room and up the stairs.

The second floor landing was much the same in the way of flowery displays of wealth, although it was a little more comforting in the way of traditional aesthetic. There floors were still hardwood but the ceiling was lower and the walls were made of wood.

"Did Yamato build your house?" Naruto asked, with obvious confusion and a half pout. "Cause if he did, he's been holding out on us!"

"Idiot," Sasuke bit out in exasperation.

"It's alright," she spoke told Sasuke in the tone of voice he found pleasing to his ears; "my great-aunt is quite wealthy, she hired an outside construction crew for the rebuild after the attack." That explained so much now. Sasuke was relieved Reina did not have a shopping addiction or a penchant burglarising museums (he hoped), she really was a plain girl who just happened to live in opulence. He was worried there for a second.

They stopped in front of a sliding door at far end of the corridor.

"This is your room," she remarked as she slide the door open and gestured them inside.

Sasuke stepped inside and realised this was the largest room he had ever had all to himself. Every room his had since was a boy in the Uchiha district to his time with Orochimaru and then with Akatsuki, to his time living with Naruto and eventually his last home at the jounin barracks; everyone paled in comparison to this one. He'd not even stayed in hotels, inns or bathhouses with rooms to rival this one. He'd once shared a cave larger this one with Shino and broad of bats, but that's hardly the same thing; besides, they had both agreed they would rather sleep on a bed of sheep dung than do that again.

In the centre of the room was a low four-poster double bed with a thick, white mosquito-net draped to the floor. There was a large bamboo-paper and lattice –pattern screen behind it.

She pointed in that direction. "Closet and washroom," and almost as if she had to muster all her strength to do it, she strode directly across his room to the dark-blue floor length to ceiling curtains; drew them apart and revealing glass double doors opening them to reveal wooden double doors and opening them to reveal a balcony. Naruto was immediately drawn there, like a moth to a flame. Sasuke followed shortly with a sharp intake of breath preceding him.

"Is that your garden?" Naruto asked, spellbound. Reina just nodded. Sasuke looked around, and marked the serene traditional garden and then the fact the all the building in the radius of this one had windowless curtain walls facing it offering maximum privacy. That was a bit excessive to the Uchiha, but he would accept it happily. Privacy is a rare commodity in Konoha's present economy and him being an impoverished and destitute orphan, married off before his twentieth birthday.

She pointed to another open wooded double door, "We share a balcony and a wall that separates your washroom from mine." She turned to head back inside, but stopped and turned to them as something came to her, "these doors do not open from the outside." She left them to surmise the implications: _'don't try to get inside my room, without my permission' _and the equally obvious and embarrassing _'don't lock yourself out'_.

She waited for them to come back into the room and handed Sasuke a set of keys. "Being that you are a ninja, you'd probably travel via rooftops, so the large bronze one will get you into the patio door downstairs, the steel one is for the roof but, be quiet if you use that door." He nodded his understanding, already tired and his day had yet to begin. "Then I shall leave you to get settled, if you will excuse me, I must attend to the shop. If you need me for anything I'll be there."

"Thank you, Reina-san." Sasuke answered mechanically, eyes a little glazed over.

"Rei-chan," she corrected, "please, it would be so very strange for my husband to address me so formally when the rest village regards me so familiarly." She continued softly, looking away from them.

"Thank you, for showing us around, Rei-chan." Naruto spoke finding it easier to speak than to be uncomfortable. "Oh, and congratulations on your marriage thing." At that Sasuke elbowed him in the gut, but they both saw how Reina blushed before disappearing into the expanses of that expansive house.

Naruto relaxed his stance and picked his ear with his little finger, "you always were a lucky bastard;" he remarked.

"Yeah, a regular ace;" he muttered darkly and dug his hands into the pockets of his jounin pants.

"I just knew you were gonna flip out when you saw your new home;" Naruto grinned, "you had to see your face when we walked into the store!" He hugged his middle as he laughed at his best friend.

"Yeah, well at least the cake comes with all the trimmings;" Sasuke waved his hand around in a gesturing move; "this is a very comfortable place."

"Yeah, tell me about it! I can't believe how your ass landed in the butter with this one. Not bad; I just hope you can learn to enjoy and appreciate all this."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked coolly.

"You have this way of not being satisfied with what you have," Naruto suddenly raised his hands in placation, "don't get mad! Everybody has a thing, being cantankerous just happens to be yours."

"Tch, I am perfectly normal, besides, can you even spell cantankerous?"

"As a matter of fact, I can. It was last Tuesday's word of the day."

Sasuke gave an amused sigh, "you still do that?"

Naruto's expression became sad as he smiled, "yeah, I do," he said softly, and then immediately shook it off, "besides, what kind of Hokage would I be if I couldn't spell?"

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled and blew an exasperated sigh; he looked around the room again, the furniture was sparse but it had everything he needed: bedside tables and lamp and a writing desk on the other side of the room. "I'll take care of unpacking later; let's just… let's just go."

Naruto shrugged and they left his room, Sasuke not forgetting his keys.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, sorry for the long wait. I had some... issues. I make no promises, but I'll try to be on time. Enjoy

* * *

**SWEET**

Chapter 2

THEY had been working at their desks in the jounin building along with some of the other guys, so Sasuke had no idea how long he'd been at work until he heard a loud tummy rumble from his companion; he did not realise it was lunch until his own tummy rumbled, as if to answer.

"Let's go." That was all he needed to say; as teammates, Team Kakashi had a mental symbiosis- a counter-intuition about the other. They never needed to explain much about their intentions. Even with Sakura, when he pursued a relationship with her, they did not have to have long discussions; they both felt it was more a trial than an actual relationship so when it ended, it ended and there was not big fuss about hurt feelings or the like. The team adjusted to it in both cases and everything between he and Sakura has been as it always is, simple.

They got up and Sasuke proceeded to leave, not looking back to see if Naruto was following; he knew he would.

Naruto watched him leave then turned to others. "Are you guys coming or what?"

Only Ino got up; he knew if the rest of his team was there, they would all get up. However, Yamato and Sai were on a mission, Kakashi was on patrols for the next few days and Sakura was hold-up in her lab doing research for the past few months, only leaving to for her shifts at the hospital and training. He hardly saw her anymore but she'd promised she would make it to lunch even if she could not stay long.

Naruto suddenly felt very lonely waiting for the guys to make up their minds. He wondered briefly, if this was how his Sasuke must feel now that his back in the village? It was obvious the rest of the peers that very lowly of him and that the villagers looked at him as if he were a demon-container. Naruto had organised that all the former rookie nine would all skip work, go out to lunch, and stay away all day on Sasuke's wedding day and give him their support- with the some crude banter, obscene gifts and the odd drink.

He looked around the open-planned office again; "are you guys coming?" this time there was a little more base in his voice.

"Oh, come on guys, you all promised." Ino spoke up. She had grown even more beautiful in the past number of years. Her light curves, extenuated by figure hugging, purple mini-dress and black, thigh-high sandals, her medical pouch slung low on her hip, her thighs were bandaged, disturbing the view of her creamy skin, she carried her weapons pouch on her right and dagger on her left. Yes, Ino was sexy and everything about her was committed to the memories of every male in the village; even her no nonsense, business-like detachment. She was a star performer for every young man's wank-bank, and so, at the sound of her voice all of them perked up.

She looked at her own team. Shikamaru desk faced away from hers but he could feel her stare right through his skull. "What kind of shinobi, do not keep their promises? What kind of _men_?" She let the last statement hang in the air for a long tense moment.

"Alright god dammit!" Kiba shouted suddenly and everyone simultaneously got up from their seats and made their way out of the office and out of the building.

Sasuke was standing outside wandering if he should go back and see what was keeping the idiot so long when the subject of his thoughts produced himself and with him: a flood of humanity and one monstrous white dog.

'_Are all of them coming to lunch with us?' _He thought to himself and was about to voice his thoughts when he was interrupted.

"Come on, bastard, stop lagging behind." Naruto's voiced gruffly in a sort of half nervous chuckle.

The first thing Sasuke realised was that they were not walking the direction of Ichiroku's; the next was that everyone seemed to know where they were going except him. Even Ino was in on it, he surmised as he surreptitiously ogled the blond that walked between her overly-protective teammates. When they turned the corner, he recognised the place from the occasional days the team went out to eat without Naruto, and the few dates he'd had with Sakura.

There were a few deep-fry and sushi stalls, hole-in-the-wall bars, teppanyaki and hibachi places all together forming- what the village called- the Kenpai District. The vibrant colours and scents of spice and meat stretched the hole in his stomach as they walked by. When they stopped, Sasuke's suspicion grew, now usually he'd have gotten angry, but his need to eat betrayed him and he felt an immense elation.

They were going to Zia Apollonia's, a family styles Italian bistro. It was owned by a retired ninja, Jihiro, and his wife, Apollonia.

Sasuke had gone part his life, regarding the world around him through the lens of apathy and not a small amount of disdain. Even eating had just been a way to sate ones hunger, there was no time to taste or enjoy, no desire to ponder mixtures of flavours and wondering what one would fancy for that evenings plate. No, it was 'eat and move on'. Sensible, planned, purposeful, tasteless. That all changed when he came back to the village and Kakashi brought him here.

Kakashi's intent had been to talk to his wayward, former student about negotiating the obstacles that would be in his way now that he was back in the village. However, once the dish was set in front of him, Sasuke could not hear or concentrate any other word besides _'lasagne'_. His had take-out from here almost every night since.

It happened as he walked through the door, as it happened evening he came to collect his order. The hush and, then the great laugh coming from the other side of the counter.

"Sasuke-chan!" Apollonia's loud voice carried through the restaurant; apparently, she had some obscure Italian heritage and would go into great detail trying to explain it to many an unsuspecting first time customer.

"_Sasuke-chan_?" Kiba sniggered under his breathe, Ino's elbow promptly found his ribs.

"Be cool," she spoke evenly.

Sasuke walked forward and greeted her as always with a light nod. He liked the noise and atmosphere of the place. It felt like a home, not his home, their home and they were inviting him in to the hearth and table.

"All of you for lunch then?"

"We're still waiting for a few more people," Naruto spoke, causing Sasuke to panic full force now; _'what the hell is this?'_ his thoughts were disturbed when Naruto carried on. "We celebrating Sasuke's wedding day!"

"WHAT?!" Both Sasuke and Apollonia shouted at the same time. Sasuke had the sudden urge to punch the Idiot in his stupid face, but before he could react, Apollonia had already latched on him; hands on cheeks, pinching, smacking, kissing, between mumbles of: _'why didn't you say anything?'_ and, _'you're so young!' _and, _'are you in love?'_ and eventually, _'she's not pregnant is she?'_

"By the Gods woman! Control yourself, the boy can't breathe!"

Only then did Apollonia let him go, she spun to regard her husband sternly. Her hands, settling in fists on her hips; "who you shouting at, huh?" she asked icily, the polar opposite of what Sasuke had just experienced.

Sasuke's face was aflame in a mixture of a heavy blush and dark red lipstick; Naruto's treachery temporarily forgotten. The old couple's bickering was strangely muted to him; it was truly the oddest moment, a moment that cannot be accounted for. He just went blank. He just spaced.

It was as if he was looking but not seeing- hearing but not listening. The utter paradox of the moment of pure stillness was broken by the old man ushering them to a long table close to the kitchen.

"So ya finally found a woman willing to marry you… considering?" The old man began. "She's not crazy is she?"

"The jury's still out on that." Naruto answered.

"So it's not Pinkie is it?" At this there was some stifled laughter and some obnoxious snorting.

"No, Sakura and I broke up over a year ago." Sasuke told him, all be it begrudgingly.

"She said she'd stop by during her lunch, so…" Naruto added in awkwardly.

"Could we get menus, please?" Ino asked politely.

"Sure, little lady. Look at you sitting here alone with all the guys; rose among thorns." He chuckled, "just make sure none of them prick you, am I right?" He looked around as all of them groaned and winced.

"God dammit," Shikamaru sighed.

Ino, however, simply smiled softly, "the menus, please."

"Alright," Jihiro threw up his hands in a placating gesture and laughed as he went on his way.

"Jeez, did we have to come here, I just know this place is gonna fucking suck, I mean they have no booths." Kiba continued to grouse, "And they won't let Akamaru in. That's so wrong man."

"Shut up will you," Naruto snapped, "you so determined to suck the fun outta everything. And what's so wrong with a normal fucking table, huh? God, we can't take you anywhere."

"Did I just step into the twilight zone?" Sakura's droll voice sounded and the group noted her making her making her way to them, Hinata, in her wake; both girls clad in scrubs. "I mean, it's like the pot calling the kettle black." Behind her Hinata giggled softly. She bent over and hugged Naruto over his shoulders and continued; "besides, the food here is great." She squeezed Sasuke on the shoulder and kissed him on the head, as she made her way past him, he reciprocated by cupping her hand briefly. She went to sit on one of the two empty seats between Kiba and Shino- who was being particularly quiet- and Hinata sat next to her.

"We can't stay long," Hinata explained, "we both had doubles and only have two hours before our next shifts start."

"Did something happen?" asked Naruto, "why do they have you working so hard."

"No not in particular," Sakura answered quickly, "but it's- you know- a hospital;" she added with no small amount of sarcasm, now Naruto was scowling and Kiba was once again sniggering.

"Geez Sakura, that was uncalled for."

"Well don't piss about it;" retorted Sakura as she folded her arms.

Jihiro picked this time to come back with the menus.

"Hey Pinkie, heard you lost out on our Sasuke over here." Sakura's mouth fell open and she was about to say something when the old man interjected; "now, don't worry; by the looks of things, I'd say there's plenty of other fish in the sea, am I right." He waggled his eyebrows in a leering gesture.

As if to answer Sakura's eyebrow twitched too, but for a completely different reason.

However, before the situation could explode, Sasuke spoke. "Anisette and glasses, we'll start with Mozzarella en Carrozza and marinara sauce, sweet on the garlic, extra basil and olives on the side."

"Comin' right up;" and the old man was gone before they knew it.

"Wow, Sasuke-san, you really know this Italian stuff;" spoke Hinata with a smile, a light blush staining her cheeks; "the most I've had is pizza, but I haven't seen any point to the rest, I'm afraid."

Sasuke was still stuck on the fact that she changed the honorific from _'kun' _to _'san'_, that he did not realise he was staring directly at her.

"Sasuke-san?" she asked quietly, positively vermilion under the scrutiny of Sasuke's gaze, but her voice seemed to knock him out of his musings.

"They use lots of cheese and tomato, it really is very good." He answered weakly.

"Weird;" Shikamaru once again spoke under his breathe.

"His got a thing for tomatoes," Sakura told them like it was some kind of state secret she was divulging, "you have to see him slice them… he has a way he does it;" she would have continued but she was interrupted by Sasuke and his emphatic silence.

The smell of melting cheese filled the air and Jihiro was back with their Anisette. The almost purple drink was opaque in the clear glass jug it was served in, the liquid swished heavily into each glass as Jihiro filled them and the rank aroma of anise seed and age old alcohol seemed a tangible spirit hanging hotly over the table. "This is Apollonia's family secret recipe, she gave me this one day while we were still dating and I woke up a week later and we were married," he laughed gruffly, "anyway, it's called _Anisette de la Bacchanalia_, the name's sort of self-explanatory, so sip slow."

They each took a tentative sip and decided they could handle it but would be careful.

"So," Kiba spoke up, "I'm gonna ask the question nobody else has the balls to ask. What's her name?" Everyone focused their attention on Sasuke, but not for long, Naruto suddenly found his lap very interesting and Sakura knocked her drink back quickly and refilled her glass.

"'Kay, so we're getting nothing outa you three huh? Well, that's fine; it won't be a secret for long. After all, we are shinobi." He smiled smugly.

It was not a threat, it was inevitable that everyone would find out, but Sasuke could not help feeling like this was something he had to control.

"Then let things take their time. She's a civilian, I don't won't her suddenly bombarded with… everything."

He might have said it too harshly, as there was a silence after he spoke. Fortunately, the food arrived then.

"Grilled cheese with all the sides. Anything else?"

"Yeah, the usual."

"Penne a la Vodka," Sakura ordered quickly.

"Spaghetti bolognaise," ordered Naruto.

"I'll have the same," said Ino; Jihiro took down all their orders now and all questions about Sasuke's wife was forgotten for the moment.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ino wiggled in her seat seeming trying to get something out of her weapons pouch. It took a moment but she produced a card and handed it across the table to Sasuke. "It's from us;" by _'us'_ she meant her team, but he was sure Chouji and Shikamaru had nothing to do with getting him anything.

His suspicion was further aided by Shikamaru's sigh and Chouji looking up in confusion, his mouth full on starters.

"You didn't have to." Sasuke could feel the insistent gazes on him; "but thanks."

"It was nothing." Shikamaru answered, Sasuke felt that to be his most sincere sentiment. Sasuke inspected the card, the front was a black and white picture of a bride and groom wedding cake decorations and the inside read: _'Congratulations on tying the knot'_ and 'Ino-Shika-Chou' signed on the bottom.

After that the table broke off into smaller more comfortable conversations, with the few outbursts from either Naruto or Kiba. Jihiro and Apollonia soon returned with their food: Lasagne, for the guest of honour; Penne a la Vodka, for Pinkie; Spaghetti Bolognaise, for the blonds; Pork and Truffle Risotto, for the Lady Hyuga, Eggplant Parmesan, for beetle boy; Sausage stuffed Cannelloni's with peppers and Marinara sauce, for the dog boy; the house veal with gravy and bread, for the Nara; and Spaghetti Napoletana with ten extra-large meat balls and a Roma-style steak, for big red. "Would you like anything else?" they asked once more, some asked for more drinks, others said they were fine.

Sasuke, took a deep breathe, inhaling the mouth-watering aroma of the food in front of him. He chanced a glance around the table and saw everyone engrossed with their meals and sighed in relaxation. "Itadakimasu," he said quietly and dug in.

Lunch carried on without any more strange anomalies, and soon it was time for Sakura and Hinata to go back to the hospital.

"We must to go, unfortunately." Hinata spoke as she got up. "Congratulations, once again Sasuke-san." Sasuke had the good sense to give a swift nod in acknowledgement this time.

Sakura slowly staggered from her own seat swaying a little before righting herself and stretching; "ah, work: the everlasting buzz kill." She said somewhat tiredly. She kissed both her boys on the forehead before bidding them all good day and leaving with Hinata.

Shikamaru gave them a long lazy look behind his cigarette, seeing (as usual) what nobody else did.

The rest of them decided to make a day of it and ordered dessert, Sasuke settled for a beer.

As the rest of his party sat contently finishing off their sweets his thoughts floated to the shop a couple of blocks away. The same one his new wife was working at, making sugary disasters- not unlike those his colleagues were currently indulging in. He was not even slightly tempted to try one, if he was quite honest with himself (which he was), he was not even slightly tempted to return to his wife's home tonight. The only thought that fortified him was that all men find the married life unbearable- some sooner than others.

Ino left a little before four in the afternoon, to make the graveyard shift at the hospital and the rest of the guys left after her. Kiba was the first, getting up to leave with her. Shino and Chouji were next as they were both training the gennin teams for the up-coming chuunin exams.

The only one still hanging about with Naruto and Sasuke was Shikamaru and he was not very conversational.

He smoked cigarette after cigarette, while sipping too sweet espresso, whenever he was spoken to his answers were concise and clipped or sounds of acknowledgment; none of which was abnormal behaviour for him, so it was not pointed out.

However, while Naruto was on his third beer and forth glass of _'purple absinth'_- as the party started calling it- speaking animatedly about something he'd seen on his way back to village after some or other solo mission, the lazy genius decided to voice his thoughts.

"Has something happened to Sakura recently?"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto, a little thrown by sudden interruption.

"I only mean that, I have not seen her outside work in months and even before that she kept her schedule tight;" he regarded them both for a while, "I'm not a busy body, I find the like too troublesome, but, she seems _off_."

"_Off_- how?" Sasuke asked.

"Just _off_," he took another long, languid drag and exhaled before continuing, "not herself, I guess." He butted his cigarette in the ashtray and got up, "anyway, I gotta get to work."

As he walked out, Kotestu walked in and with a summons for the two of them.

ELSEWHERE, a spread had been set for a guest-of-honour, who had not the decency to send word that he would not be spending his wedding night getting to know his new bride.

These, however, are the things we must bear in life and there is no sense in making mountains out mole heaps when the truth is so understandable and so very elementary fundamental.

Ah, the truth. Such a simple sounding concept, however, the concept must be understood for it cannot be fully communicated and the way we understand the concept is by experiences- as in all things. And the truth here is that, to get married both parties should at least be acquainted with each other. It takes no higher thinking to know that much.

Yet, such are our burdens: duty to clan, duty to village.

Reina truly hoped that all of this was the best decision for all involved. As she sat looking out at the night from her dark bedroom, she held in her hand the austere ring her new husband put on her finger that morning. Pastoral was name for it, it was spared of all floweriness and fanfare; just a solid gold circle with no… objections. So perfectly circular and sure it was, as if to say, there are no limitations.

Perhaps all this will just work itself out. _'Now, if only he'd come home.'_


End file.
